Gary wins top award for Geordie radio show

A RADIO presenter’s passion for the north east has been recognised with a national award.

Gary Hogg, of South Beach, Blyth, picked up the silver award for his show, The Geordie Hour, at the prestigious National Hospital Radio Awards, held in Blackpool.

The 59-year-old has been presenting the show for around 18 months on Radio Tyneside.

The awards, organised by the Hospital Broadcasting Association, are an annual celebration of the excellent standards found in hospital radio stations across the country.

Gary, who is also a local writer and cartoonist, said: “We were up against country and jazz so for Geordie music to even be considered, I think is amazing.

“The strength of my show is in the content and the actual talent we have, so it stands up in that category.

“We can provide stuff that can rub shoulders with the best of them.

“The region should not be scared to compete with the rest of the country.

“Everyone who is in the charts at the moment we can match them.

Broadcasting at 5pm every Sunday, Gary’s show is packed with classics from the likes of Jimmy Nail, Sting, The Animals and The Shadows, as well as themes from well known north-based film and television shows.

The show, produced by Gary and award-winning video editor Karis Jones, also goes out on 1575am and online, meaning it also has regular listeners all over the world.

Radio Tyneside first started broadcasting in 1951 to bring live football coverage from St James’ Park to patients at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

The station, now based in Claremont Road, Newcastle, picked up the gold award in the Special Event category for its outdoor broadcast for the Queen’s Jubilee last year.

Station director David Nicholson, who received the John Whitney award honouring his 40 years at Radio Tyneside, said: “We are absolutely delighted that The Geordie Hour won the silver award.

“The show was up against some strong competition from across the country. It is unique in that it contains nothing but local music, poetry and stories from our great region.

“We are proud to have been the first station to have broadcast the show.”

The Geordie Hour is also syndicated to West Sleekburn-based Radio Northumberland, where it is broadcast every Sunday at 6pm.

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